Sex-Ed

Whether conservatives want to admit it or not our current thinking on sex-ed is failing miserably. It's as effective as leaving two very horny teens alone in a room for a weekend after wagging your finger and saying "Behave yourselves". It just ain't working.



The story about the teens at Gloucester High School in Gloucester, Mass. is really a sad commentary on what should be a very straight-forward discussion. Clearly talking abstinance is not working. There is more to this than just sex and a lack of birth-control. When we have far reaching issues in a community that are not being addressed, and are not easily fixed, they still can't be ignored. The Superintendent of Gloucester School released a statement saying that the 7 or 8 freshman and sophomore girls found out that they were pregnant and made a pact to stay in school and raise their babies together. This is the complete opposite of what the school nurse reported when she said that girls came in several times to take pregnancy tests and were disappointed when the results were negative. What matters is that there are girls in the community who need help and some real solutions. Clearly the abstinence bit is not cutting it.

Of course, Gloucester does not want this kind of attention. No Mayor wants this kind of egg on her face. The Mayor should wear that egg and try to look for a real solution rather than trying to wag the dog and put a different spin on this. There is no spin. The city is in trouble. The families are in trouble. The kids are showing the symptons. You cannot wag that.

Zimbabwe Election

The opposition sought safety at the Dutch Embassy, and his closest aide fled to Johannesburg. Think about how times have changed, an African fleeing to South Africa. Is this Robert Mugabe's claim to fame, his legacy. After thirty years, he lost an election to Morgan Tsvangirai. The election was contested and now that they are nearing the runoff, the violence against Mr. Tsvangirai's supporters has become unbearable.

Mugabe's hubris is throughout his regime.

Boniface G. Chidyausiku, the United Nations ambassador from Zimbabwe, said that
neither the statement from the Council nor the call by Mr. Ban to postpone
the
vote would affect the timing of the elections.
“The Security Council
cannot
micromanage elections in any particular country,” Mr. Chidyausiku
told
reporters. “As far as we are concerned, the date has been set.”
He
accused
Britain and its allies of pushing for “regime change” and said Mr.
Tsvangirai’s
decision to drop out of the election was a ploy to attract
international
sympathy. He also said the opposition in Zimbabwe was
exaggerating the violence.
“These are M.D.C. tricks that should be seen for
what they are,” he said in
a speech, referring to the Movement for
Democratic Change. “The British
government’s hidden hand in all these
political developments is evident and
clearly visible.”

There may not be enough support within the 14 countries that make up the Southern African Development Community. And, with the unwillingness to hear the United Nations it looks as if the people of Zimbabwe will not see a free and fair election to take place. They will not see the man they had already elected take office. Their voices are being choked out of them.

I hope the world will sit up and take notice.

A quick thought about race.

For those who think that race is no longer an issue, ask yourself: when is the last time articulate was used as an attribute for a white person?

It seems like something small, but it speaks volumes. In relation to Barak Obama, he was a law professor. Condoleeza Rice has a better education than the President. So, how is it that reporters say articulate and people nod in agreement as if this is unheard of.

Just a thought.

Peace.

Students and Teachers shot in Cleveland High School

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/10/national/main3353024.shtml

Today, here in Cleveland, Ohio, a suspended student entered a high school and shot 2 students, 2 teachers and then killed himself.

The school is Success Tech, located in downtown Cleveland. The students and families are in shock. I am in shock. The student/suspect was a 14 year old male, who is being described by other students as an outcast who had difficulty making friends. He was suspended from school yesterday and came in today, possibly carrying 2 weapons, and shot at other students and teachers. One of the teachers is possibly in more serious condition. One of the students is being released from the hospital.

The news interviewed the young man who was first shot at by the suspect. The young man missed being shot and ran down the stairs to warn others.

These children were not cutting school. They were at school. Where we are sure they will be safe and that they are learning. It has been a long while since I have sat and cried watching the news. I felt hopeless. I am so saddened. It is hard enough to get our children to school and excited about school. Last year this city was listed as the poorest city in the country. This means that our children have a very hard way to go in this world. What happens when they do not even feel safe at school?

The sad part is that more and more this is the way that kids think to handle their problems. It isn't just a poor problem.

Yolanda King

Yolanda King, actress and speaker, dies at age 51
Associated Press
May 16, 2007



Yolanda King, daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., greets children as she signs books after her presentation in January 2005 at WSU's Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum. Hundreds of people turned out to hear King's message of diversity. (Joe Barrentine The Spokesman-Review)

ATLANTA — Yolanda King, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s eldest child who
pursued her father’s dream of racial harmony through drama and motivational
speaking, collapsed and died after making a speech. She was 51.

King
died late Tuesday in Santa Monica, Calif., said Steve Klein, a spokesman for the
King Center. The family did not know the cause of death, but relatives think it
might have been a heart problem, he said.

“She was an actress, author,
producer, advocate for peace and nonviolence, who was known and loved for her
motivational and inspirational contributions to society,” the King family said
in a statement.

Former Mayor Andrew Young, a lieutenant of her father’s
who has remained close to the family, said Yolanda King had just spoken at an
event for the American Heart Association. She was helping the association raise
awareness, especially among blacks, about stroke.

Young said she was
going to her brother Dexter’s home when she collapsed in the doorway and “they
were not able to revive her.”

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=9908